As the summer holidays draw to a close, parents face a long list of tasks to complete before the new school term begins. While replacing outgrown uniforms is a familiar chore, there is another item that children can just as easily outgrow – and one that is far more critical to get right.
Kat Gemmell, car seat safety expert at Silver Cross, is urging parents to check their child's car seat before the school run resumes, including one simple check that takes just seconds.
Legal requirements for child car seats
According to the Government website, children must normally use a child car seat until they're 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first. Height-based seats must be rear facing until your child is over 15 months old.
Your child can use a forward-facing child car seat when they're over 15 months old, but it is recommended by experts that they stay rear facing for as long as possible.
The two-finger check
Kat said: "The first check should always be that your child is still within the height and weight of their particular car seat. Children grow quickly, so car seats that fit perfectly at the end of term may now need adjusting."
She added: "If you've had to buy any new school uniform as they grow, that's a good indication that the car seat also needs a quick check. The headrest isn't simply there for comfort, it needs to be correctly positioned to support the child's head and work as intended by the manufacturer. As children grow, the headrest needs to be adjusted with them, so this should be a key step in a regular car seat safety check."
To verify the headrest position, Kat recommended that parents carry out a "two-finger check" which takes just seconds.
She explained: "A really quick and easy way to check headrest position is the two-finger test. Once your child is sitting in the car seat, if two fingers fit comfortably between your child's shoulder and the headrest, you're good to go. This is a great way to quickly get the height right before the school run."
Seat belt positioning and routine checks
The seat belt's positioning is crucial when using a booster seat. It should sit properly through the booster seat's designated guides and lie flat against the child, rather than being twisted or otherwise mispositioned.
Parents should always check the belt routing against the instructions of their particular car seat. Once fastened, check for any obvious slack and make sure the lap belt sits across the child's pelvis, while the diagonal belt sits securely across the chest and shoulder.
The belt should never be tucked behind the child's back or underneath their arm, so always check they're keeping it in place, especially if it is a new car seat as they adjust to this.
As children grow, they'll be able to buckle themselves in, but never assume they have done this correctly. Encourage them to make a habit of checking that the belt is flat, correctly positioned and properly fastened, checking this before you set off.
Kat concluded: "I would encourage parents to make car seat checks part of your school run routine. The school run is often a familiar journey, which can make it easy to become complacent, but short journeys still need the same level of protection as longer trips - every journey, every time."
